The Iowa Hawkeyes will take on the Tennessee Volunteers in the Citrus Bowl on New Years Day. The Iowa Hawkeyes are 10-3 on the season, and finished 1st in the Big-Ten West. The Hawkeyes fell in the title game to Michigan.
For Tennessee, they went 8-4 on the season, and finished third in the SEC – East. The Volunteers are favorites in this game. Tennessee is listed at -8.5 in this game, with a total of 36.5 for the game.
Iowa Hawkeyes 2023
The Iowa Hawkeyes were one of the worst offensive teams in all of College Football. The Hawkeyes scored just 16.6 points per game. The Hawkeyes offense came away with 123.2 passing yards per game. The run game came away with more than 117 yards per game.
Deacon Hill was the starting quarterback coming down the stretch after Cade McNamara went down with an injury. Hill tossed for just shy of 1,100 yards on the season. In the loss to Michigan, he threw for 120 yards.
Erick All was his top target all season, with 299 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he will not play in this game. The run game for the Hawkeyes will be led by Leshon Williams. He was stuffed in the loss to Michigan, but on the season he finished with more than 800 yards.
Last season, the Iowa Hawkeyes made the Music City Bowl. In that game, the Hawkeyes blanked another SEC school in Kentucky, 21-0. The previous season, Iowa went to the Citrus Bowl, where they fell to Kentucky.
Tennessee Volunteers 2023
On the other side, the Volunteers have a roster full of talent and athleticism. The first guy to discuss is Jaylen Wright, but he will not play. Wright is going to get ready for the NFL Draft. Wright led the team with 137 carries, 1013 yards and 4 touchdowns on the season.
Quarterback Joe Milton III is expected to play in this game. He threw for four touchdowns and rushed for two more in the season finale win over Vanderbilt. On the season, the Volunteers signal caller finished with 2,813 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions on the season.
His top target was Squirrel White. White is also expected to play in this game. White had 14 targets in the win over Vanderbilt, with 10 receptions, and 110 yards. White finished the season with 764 yards on the season.
Tennessee is playing in their 56th bowl game in school history. The Volunteers won the Orange Bowl last season over Clemson. The last time they played a Big Ten team, was in 2021 at the Music City Bowl. In that game, they lost to Purdue 47-45.
Volunteers Beat up on Hawkeyes
This is a battle of very interesting College Football teams. The Iowa Hawkeyes are going to make the game slow, and pretty boring. They are going to run the football a ton. Tennessee will want to air it out, especially with their top running back out in this game. Look for the offense to beat the defense in this game.
Our final bet for this game on New Years Day is the Tennessee Volunteers -8.5 over the Iowa Hawkeyes. We will take the OVER too, as the Volunteers win this game 27-10. Good luck and enjoy the game!
